


Valtheim Towers

by Kira_Evangeline



Series: Followers of Skyrim [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: One-Shots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 00:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5688457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kira_Evangeline/pseuds/Kira_Evangeline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inigo and Ariel attempt a quiet journey from Riften to Whiterun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Valtheim Towers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thanks for checking this out! Let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> This chapter is based off an experience with a follower from a mod I downloaded. Inigo the Brave! Some of the lines are direct quotes from his character.

“What is this place?” Ariel looked up from the map, following her companion’s indigo-furred paw to look forward at a pair of towers down the road. She stopped moving, her eyes searching her map frantically for their location.

“Looks like…Valtheim Towers?”

“Have you been here, before?” He asked, his voice a smooth purr. Ariel shrugged, earning a sigh from her Khajiit friend, Inigo. 

“I took a different path when I traveled from Whiterun to Riften. I don’t remember passing these towers at any other point,” she said quickly, folding the map before slapping it against Inigo’s chest. “Take that.” 

“What is yours, is mine,” he said, though she could hear a bit of exasperation in his voice. After all, she did only have her small pack. He already held a few backup armor pieces as well as a bunch of her potions in his.  
And now her map.

“I think I see someone up ahead!” He said, andAriel squinted, once again envying the Khajiit’s enhanced eyesight. “Perhaps they are a bandit?”

“You can’t just wander around Skyrim thinking everyone is a bandit, Inigo,” Ariel sighed, rolling her eyes at her friend. However, the sight of the woman was a tad bit unnerving. One bandit, she could handle. Two, even. More than that, and she’d have to move very carefully. 

“I am sure of this one; almost as much as I am sure there are more in the towers.” Ariel nodded absently.

“Well, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, for now. Inigo, don’t engage unless someone approaches.” Ignoring the grumble of disappointment beside her, she pushed onward. The day was fairly quiet, and as they approached, Ariel found no calls of warning from the top of the towers, nor did she hear the sounds of arrows. “See? Nothing.”

“Not yet.” Ariel was about to argue her point, but was cut-off by the sight of the Redguard woman they approached moving into the dirt road, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at them with a raised brow.

“You there! Halt!” She said, just as they drew near.

“Be ready for a fight, my friend.” Inigo purred from beside her. She noticed that his hand had settled nicely on the hilt of his glass sword. 

“This here is a tax road. You need to pay the tax in order to pass.” Ariel scoffed audibly, looking at the woman in disbelief.

“Really? Look, I fell for that in Riften. I won’t again. How about you let me pass, and my friend here won’t kill you.” She responded, her arms crossing over her chest to mimic the girl.

“I’m not afraid of you! Let’s go!” Ariel looked over at Inigo, nodding to him with a smirk. Immediately his sword was drawn as he leapt toward the bandit. Ariel turned her eyes from the scene in front of her, unwilling to watch the life leave her eyes. The tell-tale sounds of gurgling left her feeling slightly nauseas, but she couldn’t spend much time thinking about it. There were yells from above them, arrows whizzing toward her and her follower. She jumped behind the stone wall, just as an arrow nearly struck her.

“Inigo, time to go! Inigo?” 

“Aha!” Ariel watched with a slack jaw as her Khajiit friend ripped open the wooden door, flying up the steps to attack the bandits.

“Inigo, wait! Don’t…ugh. Fine!” Ariel unsheathed her ebony dagger, entering the tower to follow her friend. It seemed that no one had been in the first tower, for she followed him up with no signs of bloodshed. However, the moment she stepped outside, there was a different tune being sung. Ariel ducked back inside the door as an arrow flew toward her. She scanned the bridge, watching from afar as Inigo slashed through bandit after bandit.

“You want to turn me into a rug, yes? I will be wiping my feet on your corpse!” Ariel rolled her eyes, looking up at the other tower. One archer. That meant the other arrows were coming from an archer above her. The arrows didn’t seem to bother her friend, though, as he killed the last bandit on the bridge and ran forward to take out the archer, laughing as he went. 

Dear divines, this male was the one she trusted with her life?

“Inigo, wait!” Ariel ran up the wooden planks that led to the bridge, dodging arrows as she went. A few glanced off her armor, but she was lucky to avoid anything serious as she entered the second tower. The sounds of a panicked yell could be heard just outside, and Ariel ran out to find Inigo closing in on the archer. “Inigo, we have to make it to Whiterun before nightfall.” She said sternly, once again turning as Inigo pounced on his target. Really, he enjoyed killing far too much for her taste. Ariel ran forward to try and catch him and snap him out of his bloodlust, but he ran passed her, leaving her to stare at the bloody body of the archer.  
And the large coin purse on her belt.

A small smirk found its way onto her lips. Perhaps this wasn’t too much of a waste. Ariel quickly snatched the coin purse, shoving it into her pack as she turned around and ran back into the second tower.  
“Inigo!” She ran up the steps to the second level, finding an empty room and no more stairs.  
But there was a chest.

Ariel briefly let her mind wander to how her time with thieves had influenced her as she kneeled down in front of the chest, smiling widely as she found it to be unlocked. Gold, gems, and potions were at her disposal, leaving her with a crammed pack at her side.  
“Inigo?” Ariel called again, still able to hear his laughter. “Where the hell did he go?” Running back down the stairs, Ariel began to cross the bridge again, trying to look at the surrounding land. Perhaps he had found his way back to the road?

“Whoa!” Ariel fell back as a bloody body landed in front of her, just in front of the bridge entrance. 

“You’re miserable life is over!” 

“Inigo, gods damn you! You almost dropped him on me!” She was yelling up at the top of the tower, though she could not see him. She bent down to pull some arrows from a dead bandits’ quiver. They were fine quality elven arrows, leaving her to wonder how he’d gotten them.

“Friend, we must leave now to make it to Whiterun!” 

“Yes, Inigo. I’m aware.” Ariel huffed, running back into the first tower where the Khajiit waited for her. She led him out onto the road in silence, irritation present on her features.

“You are okay, my friend?” 

“Inigo, what were you thinking? You said you’d listen to me. I didn’t want to take that little detour.” Ariel looked up at her tall friend to find his shoulders sagged and his ears lowered in shame.  
“I apologize. I am trying to stay calm, collected, and focused. It is made harder by my current need to urinate.” Ariel froze, her jaw dropping and eyes widening. She looked over at Inigo with a look of complete disbelief before she snapped out of her stunned state.

“Then go urinate!” 

“Thank you!” Ariel watched him run back toward the towers for privacy before she turned, bringing her hand up to run through her hair as she shook her head.

Yes, her life.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone here from my other Skyrim story, the character in my Skyrim game right now is a light skinned Altmer who I named Ariel to help immerse myself while writing my other story. So it's very loosely based off of our little Snow Elf's character!
> 
> If you're not here from my story...Check it out! It's my only Skyrim story at the moment, highly active, titled The Last Snow Elf! WIP, only on my FFNet for the time being. https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2401680/
> 
> Thanks for reading! Let me know if you enjoyed and want to see more! :)
> 
> Inigo the Brave is a follower mod for Skyrim that can be found of Nexus and Steam. He is fully voiced, and wonderfully so, with plenty of unique and sarcastic comments to keep players entertained. Some may think he's a tad bit overpowered, but that can be easily fixed by removing his powerful weapons from his inventory. Overall, a very nice follower mod! check it out!


End file.
